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A Few Reminders on Cotton Defoliation

While there has been some cotton picked in Tattnall County, we still have a good bit more that will be defoliated in the next couple of weeks. Please keep these points in mind as you think about cotton defoliation.

Rain in the forecast? – There is no doubt that the best weather for defoliating cotton is clear sunny skies. We can’t always control that, but please keep in mind the rainfast timing for cotton defoliants.

Rainfast Timing of Common Cotton Defoliants

ACTIVE INGREDIENT

BRAND NAMES

RAIN-FREE PERIOD NEEDED AFTER SPRAYING

thidiazuron

Dropp, Daze, FreeFall, Klean-Pic, Takedown

24 hours

ethephon

Boll Buster, Boll’D, Ethephon, Prep, Super Boll,

6 hours

thidiazuron+diuron

Ginstar, Adios,Cutout,

Redi-Pik

12 hours

tribufos

Folex, Def

1 hour

ethephon+cyclanilide

Finish

6 hours

carfentrazone

Aim

8 hours

pyraflufen ethyl

ET

1 hour

carfentrazone+fluthiacet methyl

Display

8 hours

paraquat

Gramoxone

30 minutes

2. The volume of water matters! We need to be using a minimum of 15 gallons of water per acre when we spray cotton. I prefer to use 20 gallons. The better coverage you can get, especially in cotton that has a dense canopy, will increase the chances of the product working better.

3. Morningglory Control – These can be a real problem in certain fields, or in certain spots in fields. Many people PPO products like Aim or ET to help with morningglories. They can be used in combination with a defoliant mixture. Another option in controlling morningglories would be to spray your regular defoliant mixture (for example: Ethephon+Dropp+Folex) and come back and spot spray a morningglory product like Aim or ET 5 to 7 days later by itself in problem areas. Even though this method requires an extra trip to the field, it often works the best because you can get better coverage on the morningglory vines. Remember to follow the label instructions for using adjuvants such as surfactant or crop oil when using these products.